Machine for sorting and finishing chain links



(No Model.) 4 Sheets--Sheet 1. J.. D. STORIE.

MACHINE FOR SORTING AND FINISHINGGHAIN LINKS.

Patented Sept.'6, 1887.

N. PETERS. Phom-lilhognphnr, Washmglon, KLC.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. D. STORIE.

MAGHINE FOR SORTING AND FINISHING CHAIN LINKS;

No.'36 9,620. Patented Sept. 6, 1887.

I a I w u I I g u E- E N a Q C H W W 1.-- X l N. PETERSP'voloLlthogmphcr. Washinglcn. D

(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 3.

J. D. STORIE.

MAOHINE FOR SORTING AND FINISHING GHAIN LINKS. N0. 369',620. Patented.$ept. 6, 1887.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

J.. D. STORIB. MACHINE FOR SOR'I'ING AND FINISHING CHAIN LINKS.

No. 369,620. Patented Sept. 6, 1887.

Wwwwg lUNiTn TATES ATENT, Oriana.

JAMES DOUGLAS STORIE, OF OSHAWVA, ONTARIO, CANADA.

MACHINE FOR SORTING AND FINISHING CHAlN LlNKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 369,620, datedSeptember 6, 1887.

Application filed January 10, 1887. Serial No. 223,975. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, JAMES DOUGLAS STORIE, of the town of Oshawa, in thecounty of Ontario and Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada,have invented a certain new and useful Improved Machine for Sorting andFinishing Chain-Links; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention has for its object to do away with all hand-labor in thesorting out of chainlinks and the grinding and finishing of same, havingreference more especially to that class of links which are used in theformation of chain-bands-that is to say, those made of malleablecast-iron, and having a head or locking-knuckle formed on one end orside of the link. By my machine links of this class and of differentsizes, if need be, are thrown when in the rough state intoa hopper, fromwhence they are elevated by a carrier and dropped into a trough, downwhich they travel with their heads or knuckles uppermost. This trough isadjusted so as to deliver only one size of link at a time, all but thesmallest size being knocked out by a picker and returned to the hopper.From the trough the links are led between a hammer and an anvil, or, inother words, subjected to asqueezing process, which straighteus out thebody of the link without injuring the head. From this they pass insuitable ways to the grinding mechanism, this being arranged to grindand finish the heads or knuckles while the bodies of links are held by adevice which so slants or turns them as to insure the presentation ofevery part of the head'surface to the action of the grinders. The linksare now finished, and I arrange to deliver them one after another downan incline to the table, where each link will lie in the-same directionand position with regard to its neighbor as will render the fittingtogether of the chain a very rapid and simple process.

I am not aware that the above work has been done by any machine orautomaticallyacting devices, and therefore feel myself only obliged todescribe and illustrate one practical form of the invention, which willbe sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to make and practicethe same.

For complete comprehension of my invention reference must be had to theaccompany ing drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichsimilar letters of reference are used to indicate like parts.

In said drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of amachine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of same. Fig. 3 isa transverse section on line X X, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan (online y 3 ,1Fig. l) of rear part of machine, and Fig. 5 averticalsectional elevation showing the same mechanism. Fig. 6 is across-section showing links in position while being ground, taken online z 2, Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is an end view illustrating my method ofdelivering the finished links; Fig. 8, details of my elevatingcarrierwith links upon the hooks; Fig. 9, details of a chain-link.

The machine thus illustrated and now about to be described in detail iswhat may be termed a double machinethat is to say, is so constructedthat while raising the rough links from a common hopper it delivers theminto two troughs, each of which has a picker in connection therewith,and the hammer used for straightening the links is double-headed andreciprocating, so as to act at first upon a link from one trough andthen upon another at the opposite side. The grinding and delivery arealso double operations, as will be seen.

A is any suitable framing, bearings. in which are formed for a shorthorizontal shaft, A, carrying the driving-pulley a, (this beingpreferably situated at the rear or delivery end of the machine,) and insaid frame are also journaled transverse shafts A A A A A, withbalance-wheels, band-pulleys, 85s., to allow same to be properly driven.This arrangement can be varied according to the ideas of the mechanic.

B is a hopper of suitable construction, into which the rough links arethrown; and B, an incline down which they slide to a well, I), b being aregulating-gate for the hopper. Just above this well is situated theshaft A, and above this again the shaft A is located, these shafts beingprovided with central pulleys, (marked a a respectively,) over whichtravels my elevator or carrier 0. This is formed of an endless band orchain having hooks or curved fingers c 0 arranged thereon in two lines,or dodging each other. These hooks or fingers catch the links in thewell b and carry same upward over the shaft A the series marked 0dropping the links into a trough, D, 1

and those indicated by 0 feed the other trough, I), both troughs beingpreferably arranged on an incline, as shown. These troughs are formed bya box, d, and sloping side walls, (1 d the division between the twobeing made by two angular pieces, E E, fitting closely together at thecenter and sliding one upon the other and in ways formed in a.bed-plate, E feathers e 6 being formed upon the bottom of the slidingpieces, and a cap or guide, 6", at the top angle being provided for thispurpose.

e is asheet-metal cap for directing the links into the troughs.

d d are adjustable false bottoms hinged to the bed-plate E and extendingfor some distance underneath the troughs DD, d d being set-screws orother suitable means for adj usting these false bottoms vertically toaccommodate different lengths of links.

The sloping side walls, d d, are adjustable, so as to vary the width ofthe bottom openings in the troughs,by means of set-screws d d, or otherlike devices.

The transverse shaft A is journaled in bearings a? a, which arethemselves vertically adjustable in a post of the frame A, as seen inFigs. 1 and 3, upon this shaft being mounted two pickers, F F, formedfrom plates with toothed or serrated edges or composed of separate armsor their equivalents, said pickers being located just above the centersof the troughs D D and their points coming down so close to the heads ofthe links traveling therein as to strike and throw back all links .of alarger size and series than those for which the false bottoms are set atthat particular time, said false bottoms causing the heads of the odd orlarger links to project upward so far as to be struck and raised by therevolving pickers. Links which may happen to lie crosswise in thetroughs or upon the heads ofthose which are traveling properly will beremoved by the pickers in like manner. The links thus thrown back willfall through an opening, f, made in the side of the framing A and intothe mouth 9 of an inclined chute, G, (arranged underneath the bd-plateE2) down which they slide to the feeding end of the machine, being therereceived into a separate hopper or retained in the chute by a gate, 9.The front board of the box at will ordinarily serve to prevent thepickers from throwing the odd links too far; butother means may beprovided for the purpose, such as loosely-suspended boards or stripsjust clearing the heads of the links, as shown by dotted lines in Fig.1.

The shaft A has mounted centrally thereon a worm, a, into which meshes agear, a, the shaft a of the latter being journaled (at right angles to Ain a box, H, carried by the framing, within which Works a reciprocatingdouble-ended hammer, H, its sidewise motion being'imparted from theshaft A its wormwheel, and the gear to a cam, h, mounted on thegear-shaft a said cam working in an ovalshaped recess withinthe hammerH, as shown in Figs.,3 and 5. The box H is slotted at its top, to allowa projecting pin, h, connected to the hammer to move laterally therein,to this pin being attached the end of a short lever, z, pivoted to across-bar of the frame and terminating in a cross-head or transversebar, I, to the outer ends of which are connected side rods, 1 1, runningforward, one on each side of the machine, and connecting with the outerends of levers. I 1 pivoted to the frame A, and to pins t 6 fastenedfirmly to the under sides of the sliding trough-pieces E E, thebed-plate E" being slottedto receive said pins, as seen in Fig. 1.

Thus the motion imparted, as described, to the hammer actuates theseseveral levers and causes the central angular trough-pieces, EE, toslide alternately one upon the other longitudinally, giving thenecessary vibration and assisting the links to travel down along thetroughs until they clear the same, whenablow from a small projection, 6with which each slide is provided at its end, will force each linkforward into the space between the face of the hammer H and an anvil.There are of course two anvils, one opposite each face of the hammer,and these anvils K K are adj usted by means of wedges It, workedvertically (in ways in the framing behind said anvils) by set-screws 7a?76 or other equivalent means.

I Hinged or otherwise fastened loosely to the box H is a plate or skid,L, and on eitherside of this and a short distance therefrom, and secured to the anvils, are bars L L, all slanting toward and forming looseor self-adjusting connection with the guide-blocks which contain thelinks while their heads are being ground. In a double machine of thisclass the guideblock M is in three divisions, m m M, or has formed in itlongitudinally two grooves, 12 a, into which the several links, afterleaving the anvils and passing through the ways formed between the skidL and bars L L are forced one after the other. Between the framing bars,just above the guide-block M, and

mounted upon the horizontal driving-shaft A,

I arrange a grindstone, 0, preferably of sufficient width and diameterto act upon two links (one in each of the grooves of the guideblock) atthe same time. As will be seen clearly in Fig. 2, this grindstone ismounted close to the driving-pulley a, and upon the same shaft is amiter-gear, a which mesheswith a similar gear, ad, on the shaft A andthus driving the machine.

The guide-block M is adjustable vertically by means of a cam, m actingupon its under side, or upon the platform upon which it rests; or othermeans may be employed for this purpose. The ends of the outer sectionsmay also be slotted, as seen in the end view, Fig, 7, and Work uponset-screws mm, screwed into posts of the frame. g t

The grooves a a in the guide-block are ap- IIO proximately straight atthe top, but are preferably made serpentine, helicoidal, or curved, asindicated lower down, in order to slant the links as they pass through,and thus present the whole rounded surface of the head or knuckle to theaction of the grindstone.

P P are rails or rods, formed, preferably, of thin strips of metal,projecting outward from the end of the guide-block M, one being fastenedto the central section, an, and the other to one of the outer sectionsflush with the upper edges of the sides of the grooves in such mannerthat the link-knuckle may hook over and slide along same. underneaththese rails P P, I arrange chutes inclinedin opposite directionsandtoward the table upon which the links are to be delivered.

In the drawings I show two chutes, Q Q, so that when the links come outof the guideblock with their knuckles so turned that they will hook ontothe rails l? P they will all pass clear of the inner chute, Q, and droponto the outer chute, Q, with their faces or hook portion downwardthatis to say, with the head pointing toward the top of the chute and thelink itself lying in the same plane as the face of such chute, (which isthe proper way to deliver them in order to readily proceed with theformation of a chain but when those links which happen to be turned inthe opposite direction pass out of the grooves in the guideblock theywill not hook onto the rails, but fall immediately upon the chute Q,with their faces also downward, and in this manner both series will bedelivered in the proper manner. It will of course be apparent that byreversing the position of the rails in respect to the grooves and thedirection of the inclines the same result may be accomplished. Thenumber of rails and inclines may also be increased, if so desired.

A particular feature in connection with the elevating of the rough linksfrom the hopper by means of my carrier is that from the peculiarformation of the curved fingers or hooks c cviz., with a thick base nextto the band and fine point projecting Well upward, as shown-it mattersnot if the links when caught first hang crookedly upon said hooks, orwith their heavy heads or knuckles upward, for they will naturally tend,under the vibration of the machine, to right themselves and hang withtheir heads downward before reaching the'shaft A thus insuring theirdeposit into the troughs with their thin edges downward, (after thefashion of pins in a pin-finishing machine,) and enabling them to travelalong supported by their heads on the side inclines.

From the above and from the drawings the operation of my machine will beso clearly understood that 1 need not further enlarge thereupon, but maysay that the details of construction and arrangement of parts may beconsiderably varied by the simple use of mechanical skill withoutdeparting from the essential principles of my invention.

Immediately- What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is asfollows:

1. In a machine for finishing chain-links, the combination, with anelevator and trough for conveying the links forward, of mechanism forsqueezing and straightening the body of the link and grinding mechanismfor finishing the head or knuckle, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

2. In a machine for finishing chain-links, the combination, with anelevator and. trough for conveying the links forward, of mechanism forsqueezing and straightening the body of the link, a guide-block having ahelicoldal groove for the link to travel in, a grinder for finishing thehead or knuckle, a rail extendlng outward from such guide-block, andchute for conveying the link to the table, all substantially as and forthe purpose-set forth.

3. In a machine for sorting and finishlng chainlinks, the combination,with a hopper for containing the rough links, an elevator for raisingthe same, anda trough fed by said elevator, of mechanism for throwingout m1splaced links, devices for straightening the properly-placedlinks, and means for grinding and delivering same, all substantially inthe manner described.

4. In a machine for sorting chain-links, the combination, with a hopperand trough, arranged substantially as described, of an endless travelingcarrier having projecting books or fingers, for the purpose specified.

' 5. The combination, with the hopper and troughs D D, of the endlesscarrier 0, having hooks or fingers c 0 arranged thereon in two lines ordodging each other, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination, with the frame A, of the troughs D D, made up ofsloping side walls, d d*, central angular pieces, E E, bedplate E andmeans for imparting an alternate backward and forward motion to saidangular pieces, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination, with the troughs and with the bedplate E", f thefalse or adjustable bottoms d d, for the purpose described.

8. The combination, with the frame and a trough, of a picker forthrowing out misplaced links, substantially in the manner set forth.

9. The combination,with the frame A, having the opening f, and with thetroughs D D, of the shaft A and pickers F F, substantially as and forthe purposes described.

10. The combination, with the frame A, troughs D D, and pickers F F, ofthe returnchute G, for the purpose described.

11. The combination, with the frame, of the laterally-movingdouble-faced hammer H, anvils K K, and means, substantially such asdescribed, for operating said hammer, substantially as described.

12. The combination, with the frameAand sliding trough-pieces E E, ofthe laterallymoving double-faced hammer H, anvilsK K,

' shaft A having Worm a, gear a gear-shaft (i M, having the grooves, ofthe rails P 1?,pro- I5 jecting therefrom, and the chutes Q Q,substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

16. The combination, in a chain-band-1inkfinishing machine, with themechanism for holding and grinding the link, of an inclined 20' chuteand means for placing the link thereon with its face downward,substantially as and for the purpose described.

Toronto, 3th day of December, 1886.

' JAMES DOUGLAS STORIE. \Vitness'es:

R. A. KELLOND, F. R. CAMERON.

